A Crystal For a Crystal
by KittyoftheNight
Summary: Crystal Johnson, is a young girl living with here father, step mother, and step sister. One day, she happens upon a strange owl who will change her life for the better. For some reason, she's called him "Jareth". What mysteries will unfold? Find out.
1. Chapter 1

Labyrinth

Chapter 1

At Sycamore Rains' High School, the bell chimes announcing the days lunch. Problem was, you couldn't hear it, wanna know why? That's right, your asleep. You didn't normally fall asleep in class, but today, you just couldn't manage to stay awake.

"Ms. Johnson…Ms. Johnson?……Ms. Johnson!?" your head shot up from your desk, turning your attention to the culprit. You found it to be your teacher, you also noticed that everyone else had already left and gone to lunch.

"Hm?" you asked as you looked at her.

"It's time for lunch. And please Ms. Johnson, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't fall asleep in my classroom" she said as she sat at her desk grading papers.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Roslin, I…didn't mean to…" you said as you stood from your desk. "I haven't been getting much sleep lately" you told as you left the room. You just went outside and sat down underneath a tree. You sat there and watched as some of the other kids ate their lunch at a few tables outside. You opened up your satchel and pulled out one of those little green apples (sorry, I don't what they're called but they're the size of those tiny seedless oranges) along with a bottle of water. You looked down at your lunch sadly, that is if you can even call it a lunch. Sigh. "what's the point of lunch if I can't even eat anything?" you asked yourself with one knee up and your other leg stretched out in front of you. You finished your apple quickly, seeing as how small it was, then drank some of your water. You laid your head back against the tree and looked up at the sky.

Fastforward~

School is now over and since your dad can't come and pick you up and your step-mother doesn't want to, you're stuck walking home. And trust me, it happens a lot. You decided that you'd take your time getting home this time, and decided to go through the park. You can smell the fresh flowers and green grass as you entered the park, trees and benches all around. You sat down quietly on the bridge and gazed out at the water. Sigh. You wished that you could just stay here forever. You spotted a white owl with light brown golden feathers mixed in, it was beautiful. Strangely, it seemed to be watching you. You sat there enjoying the quiet sound around you. Then…drop. You felt something wet land on your head. Drip drop drip drop. More water, it was raining now. You sat there for a few minutes, enjoying the soothing rain as it soaked your clothes and hair, and yet, the owl still stayed and watched. BOOM!!! A bolt of lightning struck one of the trees near by, causing you to scream in fright, falling backwards out of the bench and onto the cold wet ground. Man were you glad that it was now the weekend… You got home to find your step-mother standing there at the front door, a glare on her face.

"You're late, and you are filthy!" you just muttered under your breath, trying your best to ignore her. "Now, your father and I are going out. Cassandra is having a few friends coming over and spending the night and I expect for you to behave. I also expect you to make them dinner, the food is in the cabinet so you shouldn't have too many problems. Richard, let's go" she said, pulling your dad out the door and closing it behind her. Sigh.

"I hate this" you went to your room and got yourself cleaned up a bit.

DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG you heard the door bell being pressed non-stop. "Get the door" Cassandra said, walking into your room.

"You get it, I'm doing something" she just glared at you.

"Fine…" then you heard her take in a big breath "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

"FINE JUST SHUT UP!!!" you yelled, not being able to take all of her screaming. You took your time going down the steps DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG DI- "WOULD YOU STOP THAT!?!?" you yelled, opening the door for a group of EIGHT girls. **a few friends my rear end** they all just came in grinning at you, knowing full well that they had set you off.

"MAKE OUR DINNER!" she yelled, shouving you out of the way, and dragging her friends upstairs. You just ignored her and went upstairs into your room and closing the door. You sat on your bed and pulled out a notebook, trying to finish up your book report. Sigh.

"This is so annoying…I just wish that someone would see things my way for once…" you said quietly to yourself as you wrote a few more things down in your notebook. You flipped threw a few pages in your book, reading over it and writing a few more things down. You were in mid sentence when your door burst open, revealing Cassandra with her hands on her hips. "What do you want…" you said, still paying attention to the assignment in front of you.

She marched over to you, then, "MAKE OUR DINNER!!!" she screamed, right in your ear, making you cover your ears, falling off of your bed making her laugh.

"Ah…mmm…"

"NOW" with that, she slammed your door behind her, leaving you to lay on the floor in pain. You slowly got up, using your bed for support and held your head.

"…mmm…" you made your way to the stairs, making sure that nobody was behind you and desended down the steps and into the kitchen. You looked in the cabinet and found two boxes of tuna helper. "So this is what she wants me to make them?" sigh. So you got it out and set it on the countertop. You then got out two sauce pans, along with the rest of the necessary ingredients and got started. In about 15 minutes, you were finished. "DINNER IS READY" you yelled, as you were putting the last little bit into your own bowl, that is until somebody decided to push you, causing you to burn your hand on the stove top. "AH" you cried out in pain as all of them laughed at you. You could feel the tears in your eyes as you ran upstairs, holding your hand in pain. You ran into your bathroom, turning the faucet on cold and ran it over your hand, trying to hold the tears in. After you were done, you turned the faucet off and went back into your room. You went over to the window and opened it, looking out at the rain that poured down, hitting the ground with a pitter patter sort of sound. You looked down at your hand, opening and closing it slightly with a pained face. You reached out, allowing the rain to hit it, gasping slightly at the pain, fighting the urge to quickly retrieve it and bring it back in. You laid your head on the windowsill, your arm still stretched out as light sobs escaped you. You flinched, as something else came in contact with your hand. "Ah…" you brought your head up, to find an owl nudging your hand slightly, but this wasn't any old owl, it was the same owl from the park. You looked at it for a moment, before lightly petting the feathers on its head with the side of your index finger. "Hello there…" you had a slight smile on your face as you looked at the creature before you "I'm sorry, but…I don't have any food…" you said sadly as you looked at your hand. You flinched when its beck touched your palm. "Ah…" it watched you quietly as a tear fell from your eye and onto the floor. "I'm sorry that you have to see me like this…I'm not normally this much of a wreck…"

"Whoooo…whoooo….." it called, seeming as though it were talking to you. You gave it a strange look as you turned your eyes to your hand again.

"This was a result of my…little sister…though…she's not really my sister…" you told it, as you started thinking a bit. It was true though…she wasn't really a real sister, yes, she was a result of your father and stepmother, but still, she wasn't your sister. You laughed slightly "Heh…look at me…I'm talking to a bird…" your voice was quiet as you said this, though your mind was quickly set on something else as you heard glass braking downstairs. "Oh no…"

"CRYSTAL!!!" you flinched as she yelled.

"Great…they brake something and I have to clean it up…" you stood up, looking at the owl with a sad face "I'm sorry, but…I have to go…"

"CRYSTAL!!!!!!" she yelled again as you made your way down stairs, letting out a yell of your own.

"UHHHH…WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?!?!?!?!?" you screamed, finding your mother's vase broken. They just snickered as you cleaned the mess up, taking it upstairs with you into your room. You slammed the door behind you, and slid down the door and cried even more. "Why…why do they always have to do this to me? Why!?" after a little while, you got out some hot glue, trying franticly to piece it back together the best you could. It was hard, trying to piece it back together. You tried piecing together some of the outside pieces, gluing them together as best you could, while the owl just set there watching you the entire time, with perhaps…sympathetic eyes.

The door to your room opened, going unnoticed by you, the reason being, you were asleep. Yes, it was true, you had fallen asleep quite some time ago. Apparently all of that stress had finally done it and just completely wore you out. So there you were, laying on the floor as nine little monsters entered your room. The owl itself, still remained, it was as if it were watching over you in a way, though it could not protect you from what was about to happen……

In the morning

You slowly woke up, realizing that you had fallen asleep on the floor the previous night. Getting up and stretching, you made your way to your bathroom, still not realizing anything different as you closed the door behind you. 3…2…1… "AHHHH!!!" screaming, you ran out of the bathroom and down the hall, right into Cassandra's room. Slamming the door open, you entered, not caring if you might have woken the whole neighborhood. At the moment, you were too mad to care. "GRR…CASSANDRA!!!" you yelled as she sat there grinning at you "What is the meaning of this!?!?" you cried, as you pulled on your hair slightly, only receiving giggles from every girl in the room as a result.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Cassandra said, trying to act as if nothing had happened.

You just growled "oh yes you do, what's this then?" you asked, pulling at your hair once more, revealing strand after strand of misshapen hair. That's right, they decided to take scissors to your hair, utterly destroying it in the process. You just couldn't believe it, how could she do something like that? You didn't notice as your step mom entered the room, your back placed in front of her, leaving her full access to the disastrous calamity before her.

"What is going on here?" she sounded as though she had no clue at all, I mean come on, how could she not notice your chopped up hair!? You thought that you were going to explode.

"What's going on…? What's going on?! I'll tell you what's going on! She!" you said while pointing a finger in front of you at Cassandra "She and her demented FRIENDS, destroyed my hair!!!" she seemed unfazed by your yelling, only turning to hold a sour face.

"Now Crystal, just because your hair didn't turn out the way that you wanted it to, doesn't mean that you can go blaming poor Cassandra" oh no…oh no…she did not just say that… A growl could be heard from you as you turned to face her fully.

"You think that I did this!?" you yelled, pulling at your hair in the process "Are you…NUTS!?" you yelled at her once more, not believing that she actually thought that you would do such a thing. She stepped forward slightly, pointing her finger in your face.

"Now see here young lady, I am your mother and I shall be treated as such, do you understand me?!" all you did was growl at her "I said…DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"……

"No" silence, her hand lowered for a moment.

"What did you just say?"

You stepped forward "I said…no. You are NOT my mother! You will NEVER be MY mother! You're nothing LIKE my mother! You shall never be by m-" you were cut off by a curt slap to the face, and then all fell silent…except for Cassandra's stifled laugh. Your head lay tilted to the side as you stood there, frozen.

"Now, I've had enough of you! I became your 'mother' the day I married your father…as for your so called mother, she's DEAD so get used to it!" All that you did was stand there, feeling as the tears started flowing down your cheeks, stinging your left one. She then straightened out her shirt, turning back toward you as she spoke "Now…have I made myself clear?" she watched your shakey form for a moment, watching as you opened your mouth to speak.

"…P-perfectly…you're right…" she looked at you with slight shook, though that turned to anger as you finished "…my 'mother' is dead…which means…that you can't be her!" with that, you ran out of the room and back down the hall into your own, slamming the door behind you. Moments later, you are laying in a crumpled heap on the floor crying, not knowing that you had someone watching you. It was about 15 minutes until you stopped crying, now sitting up against your bed. "I…I'm getting out of here…" you said quietly to yourself as you stood up and walked over to your closet. Opening it, you pulled out a couple tops and a few pairs of pants. You threw them into a bag that you had pulled out and then walked into the bathroom to change. About a minute later, you came back out, now fully clothed as you slipped your shoes on. "I'm not staying here" putting your jacket on, you picked you your bag and walked out the door, down the hall and step, then straight out the front door.

Fast forward to the park

You threw your bag down near the tree "I can't believe her! How dare she say such thing!? And this-" You looked down at your reflection, the water showing a clear mark upon your face "How could she!?" anger seemed to be radiating from your very being, turning the air angry and tense. Today just wasn't your day, but then again, when was it ever? Oh yeah…never. Nothing ever seemed to want to go your way, nothing at all and that was the problem. You stared down at your reflection, the anger clear as day. You let loss an angry sigh as you fell to the ground, burying your face in your hands as you tried to control yourself. One thing you will never understand, is why your mom left you here to fend for yourself against that evil woman. "Why did you leave me here?…Why…why didn't you just take me with you?" You looked to the sky, perhaps looking for an answer, thinking that it would respond. Nothing seemed to answer though, save for a low hoot somewhere on your right. You turned to find the source, only to find an owl, a barn owl to be precise. Your face held curiousity as the sadness still lingered, you still did not understand the owl's presence here. I mean, what is a barn owl doing around here? There shouldn't be any barn owl's around.


	2. Chapter 2

Labyrinth Chapter 2

A New Found Friend and a Trip to the Hospital

"What are you doing here? Why do you keep following me?" you asked, trying your best to bite back the tears that kept coming, but it didn't say a word. Then again, it was an owl…how could it? You wanted so bad to just disappear right now, just disappear and never come back, but still you were here. "Why didn't you take me with you?" you cried, "Why…Mother why?" You couldn't do it any more. All you got for your cries was a solemn hoot and the feeling of something on your shoulder. You paid it no mind as you fell to the ground on your side, crying your eyes out. "Someone…help me? Please? Just take me away from here?" you cried, but it did little good, though the owl still stayed and watched you.

Eventually, it nipped at your jacket, hooting to get your attention. You just looked at it through puffy eyes, staring at it. "What do you want?" you asked, curling up a bit to keep warm. It just came closer, nudging your hand with its beak. You tried your best to smile, but you just couldn't seem to do it, so you just placed your hand on it. It hooted again, hopping forward a bit under your arm. Your brows furrowed a bit. "You want to lay here with me?" you asked, looking at it. It merely whooed again, nudging your cheek with its beak. "I see…" you said, tears starting to form as you hugged the bird, crying into its soft feathers. Eventually, you cried yourself to sleep, the owl staying and keeping you company. It also provided you with a bit of extra warmth as well.

When you woke up, you found yourself laying on a mattress, curled up in a blanket in front of a nice warm fireplace. "Wha…where am I?" you asked quietly, still half asleep.

"You're in my home" a voice said, causing you to turn your head, a smile appearing on your face.

"Hank? Is that you?" It was. Hank was an old friend of your mom's when she was still around. Actually, he was a cop too, and still is to this day.

"I found you laying in the park asleep early this morning, it's evening now though, but still" Once he said that, it all came rushing back to you. The fighting, the yelling…the hair, everything. Even the owl. Wait, where was the owl? You looked around, hoping maybe you would spot it somewhere. "Looking for this?" You looked at Hank, your eyes traveling to the railing, and finally the owl perched upon it. You slowly got up, walking over to it, a small smile on your face.

"You didn't leave?" you asked, stretching out your arm as it climbed on.

"This little guy followed you the whole way here. I just couldn't seem to get him to leave, so finally, I said the heck with it and just let the poor thing in. He's been watching you ever since." You stared at it, petting it softly with your index finger.

"Thank you…Jareth" you said.

Hank just stared at you curiously, "Jareth? What kind of name is that?" he asked. You just looked at him, before looking back down at the owl.

"I don't know…something just told me to call him that. It seems to fit him." It was true though, you didn't really know why, but something inside you told you the name. Jareth, that was his name. You smiled at the bird as he now set on your shoulder, nudging your cheek with his beak. This only caused you to wince, catching Hank's attention.

"What's that?" he asked, now taking notice to the bruise that was forming on your cheek. You just looked away sadly.

"Carmon…" that was all you said. Quickly, his anger flared.

"Your step-mother did this to you?!" you just nodded, Jareth whooing quietly as though he were trying to comfort you. Hank's eyes softened as he looked at you. "Haven't you ever told your father? I'm sure Richard would do something about it." You just snorted in response.

"Ha…all he listens to anymore is _her_. All he _sees_ anymore is her…he…he…" you couldn't finish because you had started crying, your hands covering your eyes as Jareth hopped to your knee trying to help you. Hank left the room quietly, walking into the kitchen and picking up the phone. At this point, you really didn't care though. Right now, you just wanted to disappear. Quietly, you got back up and walked over to the mattress, sitting down as Jareth flew to you. You were once again exhausted and found the mattress to be quite inviting, so without any more thought, you laid back down and fell asleep. Jareth himself, still staying there with you, laying there with your hand resting on him.

Dream~

_At first, there was nothing, but darkness. Pure darkness. All of a sudden, there was a bright golden light. It illuminated the entire room, only to prove that it wasn't even a room at least, but the park. **The park** you thought **Why the park?** There was nothing to indicate a sign of understanding until the owl showed up, but not just any owl, your owl. Yes, it was Jareth, you one and only friend besides Hank. "Jareth?" you called, holding out your arm, but he wouldn't come to you. "Jareth?" you called again, but he still wouldn't come. You sighed sadly, not understanding it at all. "Jareth…please come to me?" you asked, your eyes down cast and not paying any attention. Suddenly, a gloved hand met your face, resting against your cheek softly._

"_You called my dear?" came an elegant mans voice. Slowly, you turned your eyes upwards, staring into a pair of mismatched eyes._

"_Who…who are you?" you asked quietly, staring up at the man before you._

"_Why, you don't remember me?" he asked, a slight smile on his face. "After all, you __**did **__call for me" Then it hit you._

"_J-Jareth?" you asked hesitantly. He merely nodded, a faint smirk on his face._

"_The one and only" Then, shortly after, the dream started to fade into nothing. Nothing, but the echoing sound of an owl around you._

End Dream~

You groaned lightly, slowly opening your eyes. When you opened them, an owl was right in front of you, staring at you. If you hadn't known any better, you'd have let out a startled scream, but you knew that it was your friend Jareth. "Hey there. You won't believe the dream I had, I…" suddenly you stopped, trying to remember the details. He just seemed to look at you as you tried to remember. "I know that you were in it…but I…for some reason, I can't remember it now" You sighed. You hated it when this happened, although, you remembered a set of eyes staring at you in the dream. "And these eyes, they were so peculiar, but still amazing" you said to him, and if you didn't know any better, you'd have sworn he was smiling at you.

"Crystal?" You turned your head to look around, searching for the voice. "Crystal." You blinked. "Over here" it said. You looked toward the steps to find Hank standing there.

"Oh Hank" He just smiled.

"I talked to your father Crystal. He said that the thing between you and Carmon was simply an accident" You couldn't believe what you were hearing.

"You can't be serious? He…he thinks that THIS!", you shouted, pointing to your cheek, "was an accident?!" Oh Lord have mercy. Angered, you grabbed your jacket and ran out the door, not bothering to put your shoes on at all. Hank looked at the bewildered bird, opening up a near by window.

"What are you waiting for _'Jareth'_? Go after her already" he said, chuckling as the bird looked at him before quickly flying out the window after you. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think that that bird was a man."

Yelling could be heard coming from a house about several streets away. An argument out breaking and turning to violent words. "How could you Dad?!" you yelled accusingly at your father. "How could you side with…with her?! Does this look like an accident?!" you yelled, pointing to your face.

"I'll make it an accident…" muttered Carmon. Your eyes went wide at this. You took a few steps back, Cassandra making her way closer to you.

"Why don't you just get out of here already! We don't want you here!" she yelled, shoving you backwards a bit, a little too close to the steps.

"Yes, just leave" Carmon said, glaring at you as she clutched your fathers arm.

"Now leave!" Cassandra yelled, giving you one final push, pushing you down the steps.

"Crystal!!!" your father yelled as you went tumbling down the steps, your head and back making contact with the wooden floor. "Crystal!?" he yelled, running to you, but you didn't move. Nearly everyone was horrified, including a little barn owl sitting outside on a branch. Cassandra merely hid behind her mother as she watched everything. "What are you doing? Call an ambulance!" your father said, holding you up in his arms. "Crystal? Crystal answer me? Please?" he cried, shaking you lightly.

"D-daddy…" you whispered, barely even conscious.

"Call an ambulance…NOW!!!" he shouted angrily. The last thing you remembered hearing, was a voice, the voice from your dreams.

"Crystal…"

Dream~

_You set there once again in the park, this time on the bridge, looking down at your reflection in the water. "Why am I here again?" you asked quietly, not really knowing the answer. You just continued to look down at your reflection, stopping as someone elses melded with yours. It was that of a tall young man with long, blonde hair, and mismatched eyes. His attire consisted of tight spandex pants, black riding boots, a white poet shirt, an odd black jacket, and some sort of amulet around his neck. "Who are you?" you asked, still looking at the reflections. You watched as his eyes looked outward, out toward the water._

"_Don't you remember me?" he asked, making you slightly confused. This caused him to chuckle. "We had this discussion last time, remember my dear?" he asked, placing a black gloved hand on top of your head. This caused you to truly look up at him._

"_Last time?" you asked, trying to remember. That's when you saw the 'owl'. "Jareth?" you called, only to get, "Yes my dear?" This caused you to blink, quickly looking up._

"_J-Jareth?" you asked, staring at him._

"_The one and only" he said, smiling down at you with those odd mismatched eyes of his._

"_It is you…" Then, no soon did those words escape you, everything around you began to disappear. "Jareth? Jareth, where are you?" you called, but there was no answer, only the sound of a monitor beeping._

_End Dream~_

"Jareth…" you whispered quietly, opening your eyes, the faint image of a man before you. You rubbed your eyes, opening them again, only to find him no longer there. Instead, set a particular barn owl on a nearby chair. "Jareth? I could have sworn that there was someone here…I must have been dreaming" you said, letting out a sigh. You looked around, wincing as you tried to move your neck. You soon found that you had a brace around your neck, preventing you from moving it. "Great…just what I needed" you said quietly to yourself.

"Crystal? Is that you?" you heard your father call as he stepped into the room.

"Dad" He smiled, running to your side, holding your hand.

"You're awake. Finally, I was so worried about you" he said, a few tears actually falling from his eyes.

"Dad…" you said quietly, brushing away his tears with your hand.

"You've been asleep for nearly two weeks now" he said, shocking you to say the least.

"Two weeks?" you asked, your brows furrowed.

"Yes. I mean after that fall that you had…you fell down the whole flight of steps." That's when it all came back to you. The shouting, the yelling, your step-mother, and Cassandra.

"Cassandra…" you said quietly to yourself. She had been the one to push you down the steps. "She…pushed me down the steps" you said looking at your father. "Cassandra pushed me!" you shouted angrily, trying to sit up, only to be met with restraints. "What's this?" you asked, looking at them. Once you had taken a better look, you found that they were on your upper arms, your legs, and also around your waist. "What's the meaning of this?!" you yelled, struggling furiously.

"Carmon thought that it would keep you from hurting yourself when you woke up" your father said. This only enraged you further.

"I want out of here, now!" you yelled, barely able to contain your new found anger.

"Crystal, dear, please? We did this for your own well being" he said, trying to calm you down, but it wasn't working.

"Where is Hank? I want to talk to Hank!" you said, now on the verge of tears. Your father looked at you with sad eye, before getting up and walking out the door. Hank entered shortly after he left. "Hank?! Hank, get me out of here, please?" you cried, tears falling now as you tried to contain yourself. "Hank, please?" you cried. He came over to your side, kneeling down beside you.

"Crystal, calm down, please? Nothing is going to happen to you, ok?" he asked, stroking the back of your hand with his thumb.

"Hank, please? Cassandra's the one that pushed me down the steps! I want out of here…please?" you cried as you told him this.

"What? Cassandra?" he asked, somewhat shocked.

"Yes, Cassandra…please Hank…please? Just get me out of here?" you cried, not being able to take it anymore. All that you wanted was to get out of there, simple as that.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here" he said, quickly running off to find the doctor. That left you with Jareth, your loyal friend, sitting atop your stomach.

"Hey Jareth…" you said quietly, lifting your arm up slightly to pet him. The pleasant silence didn't last long though because before you knew it, your worst nightmare entered the room, well one of two anyway. That's right, Cassandra.

"Hey, what's that bird doing in here?" she asked, making a move to grab him, but he moved out of the way. "Here, birdie, birdie, birdie" she called, quickly grabbing him around the neck, causing him to let out a shriek.

"Let go of him!" you yelled, struggling against the restraints, the left one seeming to loosen a bit.

"Ha! As if. Stupid pile of feathers" she said muttering the last part. Suddenly, the restraint on your left arm broke, allowing you to lung out at her.

"I said let him go!" you yelled, grabbing hold of her arm tightly, squeezing it. Out of sudden fear and shock, she let go of him, letting him fall to the ground and hide under the bed. She screamed and then ran out of the room after pulling free from your grip. "Jareth?" you called, but got no answer. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see where a few feathers had come loose and littered the floor, this worried you. Quickly, you worked on undoing the rest of your restraints. After you were done, you got off of the bed, carefully kneeling down to look under the bed. There he was, a big mess of newly ruffled and slightly torn feathers, hiding beneath the bed. "Jareth?" you called softly, reaching your hand under the bed, only to have it bitten. "Ah!" you let out a yelp in pain, wrapping it in part of your gown, seeing as he'd bitten hard and drawn blood. You winced and looked at him with pained eyes. "Jareth…it's ok…it's me" you said quietly, before reaching your hand toward him one more time, this time you felt his talons on your hand causing you to wince. Slowly, you pulled him out, smiling down at him slightly with pain still in your eyes. As though seeming to notice this, he hopped up on the bed, bowing his head low as though apologizing. You stroked his head lightly, trying to fix some of the damaged feathers. "It's alright, it doesn't hurt much", you told him, "I'm just glad you're ok now."

"What's going on in here?" asked a voice as they entered the room. You looked, to find that it was a doctor, Cassandra standing right behind him.

"See? I told you there was a bird in here. Look, it bit her too!" she exclaimed. You glared at her.

"It was an accident" you said, defending him.

"I'm calling animal control" the doctor began, but you cut him off.

"No! You won't touch him!" you yelled angrily, placing your arms around Jareth protectively.

"See doctor? She's lost her mind too, just like I told you" Cassandra said, causing you to glare at her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A Crystal for a Crystal**

**Chapter 3**

One thing that you didn't like, were the comments that came from Cassandra's mouth. "This coming from the one that pushed me down the stairs?!" you yelled angrily, causing the doctor to look down at Cassandra.

"You pushed her down the stairs?" you doctor asked, his brows furrowed.

"No! Can't you see that she's delusional?" she exclaimed, pointing at you. You merely glared at her, having heard enough.

"Just get me out of here, just get me out of here" you whispered quietly to yourself, just wishing that you could disappear from that place.

Suddenly, the lights go out, leaving nothing but darkness around you and a familiar voice saying, "Run…get out of here and run Crystal" the voice called out to you. Quickly, you obeyed, grabbing Jareth as you ran. Soon after, the lights came back on, leaving everyone else in confusion

"Where did she go!?" Cassandra yelled, looking around the now vacant room.

"She's escaped" the doctor said, quickly running to the phone and reporting it, security quickly searching the hospital for you. You ran down the hall, eventually coming to a dead end.

"There she is" an officer said, coming toward her, that's when she heard the voice again.

"Jump…you must jump" the mans voice said. She looked around, trying to find someone, but there was no one there. She looked behind her at the open window. "Jump Crystal…" he said. Was he crazy? You were 5 stories up in the building. "You must jump…now Crystal!" the voice called, Jareth flying out of your arms and through the window, calling to you. So, biting your lip, you quickly turned and jumped out of the window. "Close your eyes and trust me" he said, and so that's what you did, slowly feeling yourself disappear. "That's my girl…" he said quietly, his voice disappeared as well.

_You laid there, floating in a dream, floating in water almost. There didn't seem to be anything around you at all, just pure nothingness. That is, until an owl came to set beside you, the floating turning to solid ground beneath you._

That's when you woke up, laying on the ground in your normal clothes, Jareth sitting right beside you with slightly ruffled feathers.

"Jareth…what…what happened?" you asked, looking at him, though you knew that you would get no answer. You sighed. "I keep forgetting that you can't talk…" you said quietly, looking down at him as you sat up into a more comfortable position. You rubbed your neck a bit, feeling the soreness in it. "Wait a sec…" you quickly looked around you. "The park, but…how…why…I mean…" you closed your eyes, falling backward into a dizzying faint.

_Once again, you laid there. This time, you were staring up at the night sky, a shooting star flying over head. You shot up quickly into a sitting position, before making a wish._

"_I wish someone would take me far away from here" you said, your mind slowly traveling to that man you had seen. "That _he_ would take me from this hellish realm" you said quietly before whispering his name. "…Jareth…" you said._

"_Yes my dear?" came a voice behind you. Slowly, you turned around, your eyes meeting blue and brown. It was him, he was here._

"_But…how?" you asked quietly. He just smiled, walking over to you, crouching down in front of you._

"_Crystal, Crystal, Crystal. How many times must we go over this?" he asked, a light chuckle coming up from his chest. Quietly, he formed a small sphere in his hand, holding it out to you. "A crystal for a crystal" he said, smiling, before placing it in your hands. You looked at him, not sure what to do. Suddenly, his gloved hand was on your cheek, him leaning over toward you. You looked at him nervously as he brought his lips to your ear. "Time to wake up my dear…" he said quietly, and then everything went black.~_

Quickly, you shot up from where you were sitting, sweating beading your face. You then collapsed back onto the ground, looking up at the night sky as a shooting star made its way over head. Quietly, you made your silent wish. _I wish he were here_.

"You know, it's very unbecoming of a young lady, laying there like that" came a voice. Quickly, you sat up, looking around frantically.

"Where?" you spoke quietly, looking around. The voice laughed lightly, a chuckle resonating through the crisp night air.

"Over here my dear" the voice called, standing about several yards away from you. You turned your head, a slight gasp escaping your lips. "Surely I'm not _that_ stunning am I?" the voice asked, before coming into the light a bit more.

"You…who…who are you?" you asked quietly, looking over at him as he slowly starting walking toward you a bit more. Once he reached you, he crouched down in front of you.

"Crystal, Crystal, Crystal. How many times must we go over this?" he asked, a light chuckle coming from his chest. _The dream…_she thought quietly to herself. _Crystal, Crystal, Crystal. How many times must we go over this?_ You stared at him as he produced a small sphere in his hand, holding it out to you. _The crystal…_ "A crystal for a crystal" he said, smiling, before placing it in your hands. Just like in the dream, you looked up at him, not really sure what to do. And also like in the dream, his gloved hand was placed on your cheek, with him leaning over toward you. You just closed your eyes as he brought his lips to your ear. "All you have to do is call upon me dear, soon you will be free, just call upon me" he said quietly, before pulling away and placing a small kiss upon your forehead.

"Who are you?" you asked quietly, still staring at him. He sighed quietly, a small smile on his face as he turned his eyes toward you.

"Why my dear, my name is Jareth, remember?" he asked, smiling at you. You sat there for a moment, dumb struck.

"Jareth…" you whispered. "But that means…" you looked to where your owl had been, to find that it was no longer there. "Then…you're…" she couldn't find the words, but he nodded.

"Yes, it would seem as though you've figured it out my dear" he said, smiling at her. "You have indeed figured it out." He was the owl…he was your friend…the voice in your head…he was…Jareth. Slowly, you stood up, Jareth following your actions. He just smiled at you as you looked at him. His eyes, two different colors. The right one was blue and the left one was brown, so different, but unique. "Are you alright my dear?" he asked curiously, watching your footing.

"How…how is it that I'm here?" you asked, looking up into his eyes, your breath catching in your throat slightly at the thought.

"Why, what do you mean my dear?" he asked, smiling at you. You just looked at him strangely for a moment.

"You…you're the one that…that told me to jump" you said quietly, looking at the ground. Realization seemed to dawn on him then.

"Ah, I see. Yes, you see my dear Crystal, it's a little something that I like to call '_magic_'" he told you, placing the tip of his finger on the crystal that he had given to you. "Like this for instance" he said, and before your eyes, it turned into a large bunch of butterflies flying around you. You let out a light giggle as the tiny winged creatures fluttered around you, flying in the faint breeze that went around your body.

"Amazing…" you said, a small smile forming on your lips.

"You liked that did you?" he asked. You nodded your head anxiously, watching as he smiled at you. "Well, what about this then?" he said, then with the flick of his wrist, the butterflies were gone. You looked around, trying to find them, but found that you had no luck in the matter. Though, you saw that your crystal was in front of you and Jareth quickly transformed into an owl. Your owl.

"J-Jareth?" you stuttered, looking at the bird.

"Yes my dear?" came his voice from the bird. You nearly fell over upon hearing this.

"So…it really is you then?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so" he told you, bowing his head.

"Then…if you were the owl all along…" you looked down at your hand, still red. "Why…why did you bite me?" you asked, turning your head to look at him. He twisted his head around to look at you.

"I do apologize for that my dear. I'm afraid that you startled me. In fact, I was afraid that it was that monstrosity of a child again, what was her name?"

"Cassandra…" you said bitterly, running the tip of your finger over his feathers, this seemed to put him a ease.

"Ah…she's the one that caused you to burn your hand, yes?" he asked, looking at you, his neck still twisted to look straight at you.

"Yes, she is" you told him, continuing to pet his feathers, smoothing them with the touch of your finger. "I never really have liked her that much…she's the reason why my hair is like this" you told him, pulling at your hair for emphasis. A few moments later, he turned back into a man, grabbing hold of you wrist in mid stroke. You blushed lightly at this. Quietly, he picked at your hair a bit, looking at it.

"It sort of reminds me of mine" he said, a light air chuckle escaping his lips. She looked at him for a moment.

"It does…doesn't it?" she said quietly to herself. He gave her a small smile.

"Albeit a bit choppier than mine, but still, I could always help you fix it if you like?" He looked at your face for a moment. You shook your head.

"I'll just let it grow back, no matter how much I hate it…" you said quietly. He pretended to be hurt.

"So, you hate my hair do you?" he asked, trying to cover up the smile on his face.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, I didn't mean it like that" you said quickly, trying to correct yourself. "It's just that on _me_ I really don't think that it looks that great" you said, trying your best to make up for your slip of the tongue. He just laughed a bit.

"Don't worry my dear, I know that you didn't mean anything by it, I just like having a bit of fun every now and then" he said truthfully. You blinked, feeling your face heat up. He had a sly smile on his face as he looked at you. "Now, why so red my dear?" he asked, causing you to look away in embarrassment. You didn't like people pulling jokes on you. "I do apologize dear, I didn't mean to make fun" he said coolly.

You yawned quietly, turning back to the sky after a moment, though the yawn did not go over looked by Jareth. "You're tired" he said, placing a hand on your shoulder. You just shook your head, trying to cover it up.

"No, I'm fine" you told him. That was a lie and both of you knew it. You were in fact VERY tired at the moment. Tired from running, tired from chasing away Cassandra, tired from yelling, screaming, crying. Most importantly, you were just plain tired from everything in general really.

"My dear…you need rest" he informed you, tracing gloved fingertips over the lining of your cheek. This caused you to yawn again, making him chuckle. "Trying to hide this fact will get you no where fast sweet Crystal"

"Will you…stop with that 'dear' stuff? It's…making me…sleepy" you said quietly, yawning again. Oh how you hating yawning at this very moment. It was becoming a nuisance and a rather annoying one at that.

"Dear…sweet…Crystal…please go to sleep" he said, a smile creeping onto his face. You groaned.

"I thought I said…to stop…saying…that…" you yawned again, barely finishing your sentence. Jareth just cracked up upon watching you, finding your dismay rather amusing. You gave him a tired glare. "I'm glad that you find my disposition so amusing my dear friend" you said quietly, before another yawn escaped your lips. He whipped a tear from his eye.

"So sorry, I just can't seem to help it" he admitted, watching you yawn again.

"And neither…can…I" He chuckled. "Dang it…why won't this…stop?" you groaned. You couldn't seem to stop yawning and from what you could tell, you were slowly starting to fall asleep. "No…not…right…now" you yawned again, groaning once more.

"Come now, sleep" he said, placing a hand on your forehead. "You're already starting to get sick" he informed you, looking down into your groggy eyes.

"Sick?" you questioned, your brows knitting together. He nodded.

"Yes, sick. That's exactly what I said" You just groaned again.

"Great…that's the last thing that I need right now" you yawned again, trying to stay standing, but failing horribly. Soon, you found yourself falling forward, only to have Jareth catch you in the warmth of his arms.

"Careful now" he said, sitting down with you on the firm and solid ground. You yawned yet again, feeling slightly dizzy.

"Great…now I can't even see straight" you whispered, but he still heard you. He looked down at you with mild interest.

"Dizzy?" he asked curiously, looking at you. He placed his hand back on your forehead for a moment.

"What…are you…doing?" you whispered, trying to keep your eyes open at this point, but failing miserably.

"Why, I am checking your temperature my dear, and you seem to have a fever" Jareth said, gazing down at you with slight worry. "Is there anywhere in which I can take you my dear?" he asked looking down at you. You nodded slowly.

"Hank's…do you…remember…how to…get…there?" you asked, continuing to yawn, fighting to stay awake.

"Yes, I do believe so. Not too far from here, am I right?" he asked, allowing you to give a faint nod. Slowly, he knelt down a bit, before picking you up in his arms. "You're rather light, did you know that?" you didn't answer, just continued to fight a pointless battle for consciousness.

"You're…not going to…leave…are you?" you asked quietly, eyelids darting open and closed, furiously trying to stay open now. He let out a faint chuckle, before shaking his head.

"No, don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I've stayed by your side this long haven't I?" he asked, a small grin on his face. You nodded slowly, burying your face into the folds of his strange attire, closing your eyes as well.

"Mmmhmhmm…" you mumbled into his clothing.

"What was that?" he asked, looking down at you curiously. You pulled your head away slightly.

"I said…yes…you have…" you said quietly, yawning, before burying your face back into the cloth of his chest. Your eyes then closed, one final time, unable to open again.

"Well my dear, I suppose that we should be off then" he said, quietly crouching down to pick your crystal up in one hand, you in the other. He smiled lightly, before pressing the crystal into your small clamped hand, watching as your fingers wrapped around the small sphere. "I can't understand why I never made my presence known before" Jareth said quietly, looking down at you. "I'm sure that we could have had quite a bit of fun if I had sooner, maybe a few years ago?" he asked, no one in particular. "But no, we'll still have plenty of fun ahead of us, won't we my dear?" he asked, looking down at you this time, before toss you up in his arms a bit to get a better grip on you. He smiled a bit, before walking off, keeping to the shadows of the park.

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**Ok, chapter 3 is FINALLY up. Sorry for taking so long, I had had a bit of writer block. Please REVIEW? I need reviews for this story and possibly some ideas too. :) thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Labyrinth chapter 4**

When you finally woke up, you found yourself inside Hank's home. Slowly, you sat up, groaning a bit at your stiff muscles. Your eyes went wide for a moment, suddenly remembering Jareth. "Jareth?" you called, looking around you. He was nowhere in sight. "Where is he…" you whispered quietly, the sudden sounds of footsteps coming from the stairs. It was Hank. What you soon noticed, was that Jareth was perched upon Hank's shoulder, looking at you. You smiled at this, lifting your arm and calling to him, watching as he flew over and landed on your arm. "Hey there" you cooed quietly, stroking his head with your fingertip. You heard Hank let out a chuckle, causing you to look up at him.

"You act as if you're in love with that bird" he said, laughing a bit. You just tilted your head to the side a bit.

"In love with him? What do you mean Hank? He's just my friend and a BIRD no less" you explained.

"The way you act with that thing, you act as though it's a person" he said.

"He _is_ a person" you protested, earning yet another laugh. You sighed quietly, before looking back down at Jareth. "You are…I know you are" you whispered quietly, stroking his head softly. His eyes seemed to light up upon hearing this, happy that you said what you did. You gave him a small smile, but that soon changed when you felt sick to your stomach. You groaned uncomfortably, feeling as though something might come up. "Hank!" you called quickly "bathroom!" he understood, quickly picking you up and racing to the bathroom. No sooner had you got there, you threw up in the toilet, groaning in disgust. He placed a towel down on it so you could rest your head as you set there. Jareth soon made his way into the bathroom, using his magic to close the door as he resting upon her shoulder. He nudged your cheek with his beak, causing you to look at him. Within a moment, he changed into a man, his hand on her cheek.

"I'm glad that you remember me this time" he said, whispering into your ear. You blushed a bit, but it was covered up by your already slightly red cheeks. You gave a faint smile.

"Jareth…" you murmured quietly. He gave a short nod, smiling down at you. You soon found yourself throwing up again, a faint moan escaping your lips. Jerath stared down at you with sympathy. You just closed your eyes, trying not to move around too much. Moments later, you felt Jerath wrapping his arms around your shoulders, pulling you to him. You let your back rest against his chest as the two of you sat there. He seemed to be muttering something quietly to himself, chanting something. After a little while, you felt yourself getting sleepy. What ever he was doing, it was working, and soon you were out like a light.

Jareth smiled down at you, before shifting a bit and placing a subtle kiss upon your cheek. "Sleep well my dear" he whispered into you ear, right before Hank came in.

When Hank came in, he found you leaning against the wall, Jareth in your lap. "Silly bird" he muttered to himself, before carefully picking you up and carrying you downstairs to the couch. It was then that he laid you down, placing a hand upon your forehead. "Still hot" he said, walking into the kitchen a moment later, coming back out with a wet cloth in hand. He placed it onto your head, before going back upstairs to his room. Jareth himself, stayed by your side the whole time, never leaving once.

The next day, you woke up around noon, feeling better than ever. You were actually shocked, since you had been so sick the day before. Although, you were running to the bathroom when you woke up though. You made sure that Jareth didn't follow you, that would have been extremely embarrassing. Once you were finished though, you went back downstairs, smiling when you saw Jareth on the arm of the couch. "Good morning Jareth" you said happily, only to receive a voice in your head.

"_Don't you mean good after noon?_" he asked, staring at you with large owl eyes. You let out a small laugh.

"I suppose so, yes" you said, nodding.

"Who are you talking to Crystal?" Hank asked, walking into the room from the kitchen. Your face flushed slightly.

"Um…only Jareth" you said quietly. This caused him to laugh.

"You mean that bloody bird?" he asked. You blushed a bit. "Crystal, he's a BIRD for heavens sake" he said, looking at you. You just looked down, eyes down cast. Jareth didn't seem to like this very much, so he flew out the window purposely.

"Jareth! Wait!" you called, running outside after him. You ran as fast as you could, trying to keep up with him as he continued to fly away. He grinned on the inside, he had flown out for a reason because he knew that she'd follow him, and he was right.

You followed him for quite some time, until the two of you came to the park again. Why was it he always went to the park? "Jareth…w-wait" you called out, hands on your knees, panting. Moments later, he changed into a man, staring at her. "Why…why did you run off?" you asked, still panting. He just came up to you, placing a hand upon your shoulder.

"Why, to talk to you of course" he told you simply.

"About what?" you asked. He just looked at you for a moment, before opening his mouth to speak.

"For beginners, Crystal, you must go home" he told you, staring straight at you. You wanted to yell as he said that, not wanting to go home in the slightest.

"What? Are you kidding me?" you asked, your voice raising in frustration at the very thought of it all.

"No, I'm afraid not my dear. Truly, you must return home" he told you.

"No…I…I can't" you whispered quietly. It was true, you couldn't go home, not after everything that had happened. Slowly, he came up to you, placing a hand on your shoulder.

"I'm afraid that you must my dear" he said. You just sighed heavily, pulling away a bit, your head turned to the side.

"Why?" you whispered quietly, wanting an answer as to why you had to go back.

"Trust me my dear, things will be made clear in due time" he said, smiling down at you. You closed your eyes for a moment, trying to think things through. "Trust me…" his voice came, whispering into your ear softly.

"Do I really have any other choice?" you said, with slight sarcasm. He merely laughed at this.

"Just trust me" he said one last time, before turning and disappearing into nothing. You looked around quickly, trying to find him, but came up empty handed. You sighed.

"Fine…"

Quietly, you made your way inside your house, looking around carefully. You found no one to be in the living room, so you decided to make your way upstairs. Once you did, you walked into your room. At least Cassandra hadn't destroyed anything or at least from what you could tell anyways. Demon child, you thought quietly to yourself, before sitting down upon your bed. It wasn't very long though, before you heard footsteps on the stairs. "Oh no…" you whispered quietly. You heard them getting louder as the person continued to get closer to your room. Eventually, they opened the door, revealing none other than Cassandra herself. You glared upon seeing her. "Get out" you hissed, not wanting her anywhere near you. She smirked.

"Why don't _you_ get out" she said, glaring daggers right back at you from the doorway in which she stood.

"This is my room, I don't have to go anywhere" you informed her, turning your gaze to the window. She took a step forward, something in her hand. When you turned to see what it was, you were instantly thrown from the bed as something made contact with your head. You groaned in pain, trying to blink away the fuzziness. When you looked, you found the weapon to be a long metal ruler, more like yard stick actually. You groaned again, rubbing the back of your head.

"Wha…what is wrong with you?" you asked, a bit dizzy as you attempted to stand up. Though before you could fully get your bearings, she hit you again, harder this time. "Ugh…" you felt like crying now, your head was pounding horribly. Before she hit you again, you caught the ruler, protecting yourself from it.

"Go away and leave us alone!" Cassandra yelled, this time smacking you in the face with the thing. This time, you did cry out in pain, the ruler nearly skimming over your eye. Where was Jareth when you needed him? He asked you to trust him and where does it get you? A freaking beating! "I wish you would just disappear!" she shouted, picking up a book from your nightstand, looking at it. She'd obviously been touching your stuff again, given the expression on her face as she held the book open to the first pages. She smirked. "I wish the goblins would come and take you away…right NOW" she spoke happily, throwing the book at your face.

For a moment, it was as if all time stood still. The awareness of someone's arms around you becoming very apparent. You looked up, blond hair making contact with your face, tickling it slightly. For a moment, you actually felt yourself become at ease. When you looked up, you found that it was none other than Jareth himself. "Don't worry my dear…you're safe now" he whispered quietly, smiling down at you. He then lifted you up, arms wrapped around your waist from behind, his eyes set on Cassandra. When she had spoke those words, the power had also gone out, leaving them blind.

"Who…who's there" Cassandra squealed, looking around. Jareth had a menacing look upon his face as he stepped forward, picking you up in his arms, your head pounding. You groaned slightly, before closing your eyes and burying your head within his shoulder.

"You know…you really _are _quite the little monster aren't you?" he asked Cassandra, a sour look upon his slender face. "And to think, _you_ tried to ring _my_ neck" he said quietly, his eyes burning. In his mind, she was truly an abomination, a demon among demons. He knew that you felt the same. "Time and time again…you treat Crystal the same. Do you really want her gone that badly? Do you truly wish for her to disappear?" Jareth asked, keeping a good grip upon you.

"Yes!" Cassandra shouted.

"It looks like I've gained a new love then…" he whispered quietly, unable for you to hear this, seeing as you were half asleep by now. He smirked, before walking towards Cassandra, phasing through her and freaking her out. Moments later, he disappeared from sight, holding you in his arms. "Well my dear, you're finally free" he said, whispering into your ear softly, your hand curling around a piece of clothing. As you laid there, you could feel the difference around you, you were no longer at home. In fact, you were far from it now.

"Jareth…" you whispered, eyes slightly glazed over. Cassandra had truly hit you in the head too hard, for you had a splitting headache. Jareth heard as you groaned from the pain in your head. He stared down at you with sympathy, knowing the pain that you were in at the moment. If he could have stopped it from happening, then he would have, but he had to get you there one way or another. Now that you were there with him, he no longer had to worry about it. You were now at his side, with nothing really to worry about. Nothing, but a sore head that is.

Gently, he placed his hand upon your head, making you wince. It really did hurt, that was for sure. He ran his thumb and fingers across it, trying to massage your temple, you smiled faintly at this. "M…" you moaned faintly. After a moment, he pressed his lips lightly to your forehead, kissing it.

"Close your eyes my dear" he whispered softly into your ear, making your skin flush a slight red. You listened as you were told, closing your eyes. Soon after, the feeling of movement hit you. You could tell by the lack of breeze that you were somewhere inside now, you didn't mind though.

"Where are we?" you asked, eyes still closed.

"You're new home" he told you, giving you a small smile.

* * *

**Ok everyone, there's chapter 4. I hope everyone enjoyed it and sorry if it a little bit sort. Please remember to REVIEW? I'd really like to see what you think about this chapter. Thank you. Pleasant reading.**


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